Door



May 5, 1931.,

A. C. FARR DOOR Filed Dec. 31, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet A. C. FARR May 5, 1931,

DOOR

Filed Dec. 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented May 5, 1931 PATENT? OFFICE ALFRED C. FA, OF UPLAND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR T CARRIE HORNER, 0F UPLAND, INDIANA Application filed December 31, 1930. Serial No. 505,869.

This invention relates to Vertically opening doors and is particularly adapted for use as a garage door and is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 396,872, filed October 2, 1929, for doors.

An object of the invention is to provide a door which may be opened vertically and which will require a minimum of space at the front and rear when being opened.

A further object is to provide a door which is weather proof against wind, rain and snow when closed and when open will serve as a water shed above the doorway.

A further general object is to provide a door which will be more efficient and more easily operated than doors now in use.

A further object is to provide a door WhlCll is simple in construction and easily operated and requires a minimum of head room.

Further objects and advantages Wlll become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referrlng to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof and on which similarreference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the rear of the door,

Figure 2, a-section on line 2-2 of F gure 1,

Figure 3, a section on line 3-3 of Flgure 1,

Figure 4, a detail view of one of the guide plates on the door,

Fi ure 5, a detail view of one of the pulleys for supporting a weight for opening the door, and

Figure 6, a detail of the end portion of the guide track for the plates on the edge of the door.

Figures 7 and 8 are detail views on an enlarged scale of portions of the edges of the door.

In the drawings numerals 10 and 11 indicate door posts which are preferably hollow and secured together at their top by a cross beam 12 to which an upper panel 13 of the door is secured by hinges 14. A lower panel 15 substantially double the width of the upper panel is hinged to the upper panel at 16. Guide rails or tracks 17 are secured on the inner side of each of the posts in any suitable way as by bolts 18 having the heads countersunk in the guide rails. The guide rails are provided with a relatively Wide front portion 19 and a narrow back portion 20, the front portion serving as an abutting edge against which the door shuts and also as a weather strip at the edge of the door. A strip 41 at the head amb, a ship lap joint 42 and a strip 43 at the lower edge of the posts against which the lower edge of the door fits all combine to make a weather tight door. Plates 21 are secured at each side of the lower panel 15 and these plates are provided with lugs havlng rollers 22 rotatably mounted thereon, the

rollers being engageable between the edges 19 and 20 of the tracks 17 Secured on the lugs also are links 23 into which cables 24.- are secured, the cables passing up around supporting pulleys 40 and having weights 25 on their opposite ends. The plates 21 also are provided with lugs 26 into which truss rods not shown maybe secured for supporting and strengthening thedoors. The pulleys 40 are mounted upon brackets 28 secured to the cross bar 12. The depending arms of the bracket 28 are provided with a plurality of holes 29 for receiving a pin 30 upon which the pulleys are mounted. By having a plurality of holes 29, the pulleys may be mounted at any one of several desired positions such as on the side door jamb, head jamb or placed wherever best suited. A cam 31 is secured at the lower end of the tracks 17 While the cam 31 is shown as a separate element I may find it desirable or simpler to make this integral with the rails 17. The outer curved surface of the cam, as shown at 32, follows a correspondingly notched portion 44 of the door and serves to close the notched portion which engages over the edge 19 of the tracks or rails 17 and thus provides a more perfect weather, strip. A latch is provided on the inside of the door and consists of a rock lever 33 secured on a shaft 34 which extends through the door and has an operating knob or handle 35 on the other end. To the end of the rock lever are attached links 36 which are attached at their other ends to plungers 37 movable in brackets 38. The plungers 37 latching behind catches 39 which are secured on the inside of the door posts. The door is shown in a closed posiloo tion in Figure 1. In order to open it the latch 35 is turned to withdraw the plungers 37 from the latches. The door is then moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 in which postion the rollers 22 travel up in the tracks, the door bending at its hinge 16. As soon as the door is buckled to the dotted line p'ostion shown in Figure 2, it will be pulled upwardly by means of the weights 25 until the panels 13 and 15 fold together. The weights 25 are of appropriate weight to counter-balance the door. In order to close the door the operator pushes against the panel 15 or 13, this causing it to straighten out and the rollers 22 travel down in the tracks until the cut-out portion of the door travels down along the cam surfaces 32 and the panels 13 and 15 move to the vertical position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, in which position the inner edges of the panels rest against the edges 19 of the tracks. As

soon as the door has assumed a closed position the latches 37 engaging behind the catches 39 lock the door in closed position.

From the description and statement of operation it should be apparent that I have provided a door that is very simplein construction having only a few parts and hence cannot easily get out of order in operation. Moreover it can be built and shipped and easily installed in any garage or other building. Its simplicity and ease of assembly bring its cost low enough to make it a practical door for any garage. One feature of the simplicity of its construction lies in the fact that the side jambs may be chambered at the factory ready to be nailed or otherwise secured to the sides of the entrance to the garage. The door may then be installed in only an hour or two. The low cost of installing aloneiis an item of considerable saving. The fact that weather strip means are provided at all sides and joints insures a weather tight garage. Moreover since the side rails or channels do not extend to the bottoms of the side posts there is no danger of jambing due to dirt, etc. Since the door folds up completely, less headroom is required to install and operate it. These and many other advantages should be apparent from the foregoing description and operation.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated by the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An article of the character described comprising a wall with a door opening, guide rails on the sides of said opening, a cross bar at the upper portion of said door opening, a door panel hinged to the said cross bar, a second door panel of considerably greater width than the first named panel hinged to the lower side of the first named panel, plates on the edges of the lower panel, said plates .having lugs thereon carrying rollers engageable with the sides of the rails to guide the doors, links connected to said lugs and cables connected to said links, said cables passing door opening, said rails having a wide and a relatively narrow flange, the wide flange serving as a stop for the edge of the door as 1t closes and as a weather strip, said. rails terminating in a cam end around which a notched portion of the door slides to permit the lower panel to swing into a vertical plane to permit the door to close, substantially as set forth.

3. A door for buildings comprising a wall with a dooropening, guide-rails mounted on the inner face of the sides of said opening, a cross bar at the upper portionof said opening, a door panel hinged to said cross bar and'between said guide-rails, a second door panel of relatively greater width than the first-named panel hinged along the lower edge of the first-named panel and adapted to fold in the opposite direction, a plate mounted at a mid-point on the inner side of saitl last-named panel provided with a guide roller adapted to be mounted in said guide-rails, and a cable attached to said plate having a weight on the other end to balance the weight ofthe door, the said rails terminating above the floor and having sloping ends, the door being notched to provide a corresponding edge to fit over the lower ends of the rails to insure a better seal along the lower edges of the door, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a folding door, of guide rails on'each side of the door adapted to receive guide plates on the door, said guide rails having a relatively wide flange at one side to receive the cooperating edge of the door and having a cam portion formed to fit a cooperating notched portion in the edge of the door as the door is closed, said cam portion serving as weather stripping means when the door is closed, substantially as set forth.

5. The cc tnbination with a folding door of guide rails on each side of the door adapted to receive guide plates on the door, said guide rails having a relatively wide flange at one side to receive the cooperating edge of the door and having a cam portion formed n to fit a cooperating notched portion in the edge of the door as the door is closed, said cam portion serving as weather stripping means when the door is closed, and an abutting strip secured on the inner faces of the thirt y ALFRED C. FARR. 

